Day 2 10/12/07 Manteo – Upper Alligator River (40 miles)

Now that the nights are longer, we don’t tend to get up quite as early, but we had the coffee brewing by 0630. We listened to weather radio first thing. Winds were projected to be 10-15 knots NW early in the day, which would be right on our nose, so we did not hurry to cast off. I took a short walk and then fixed an early brunch of corned beef hash, shired eggs, tomatoes, and whole grain baguettes.

We had noticed the day before that my windshield wiper blade was delaminating, so after brunch, I walked to the auto parts store to see if I could get a replacement. The blade is only 12” long and is hard to find. I was lucky enough to find cut-to-fit blades at the auto store and they even mounted the blade for me. I came away with the new blade and 2 more spares for $11. My guess is that this was probably 25% of what I would have had to pay at a marine store.

We finally cast off at 1000. Marc and Cam decided to remain for another day as they would have had the winds and resulting waves on their nose for the entire 40 mile trip home. We would only have to put up with it for about 18 miles.

Manteo is on the eastern side of Roanoke Island. Once we rounded the shelter of Roanoke Island heading west back up the Albemarle Sound, we encountered the full effect of wind and waves. As projected they were on our nose which meant there was no way we could sail. Waves averaged 2-3 feet with occasional 3-4 footers, so it was very bumpy. I first took it very slowly at 3-5 knots, but soon found that we cut the waves better at 6+ knots although I had to keep a hand on the throttle constantly to slow us for the bigger waves so that we wouldn’t pound excessively. The waves threw water all the way over the boat, so Buck and I were very appreciative of being able to steer the boat from inside the cabin where we were snug and dry. Marc and Cam made the right decision to stay another day as they would have been wet for their entire voyage.

We made it to the Alligator River Bridge by 1430; passed through it and into the calm protected waters of the river heading southbound with very few other boats. My guess is that most boats didn’t want to try the Albemarle Sound when it was that rough.

The last 2 times we’ve traversed the Alligator, I’ve anchored out at the big bend where the river turns west before the Pungo Canal. This trip we decided to try something different. We anchored up a waterway called “The Straits” about 5 miles further north off the west side of the river. You cannot see the Straits at all from the middle of the river and the entrance is very tricky. I would not attempt it without a chart plotter and someone on the bow to watch for the very plentiful snags. I would also suggest that you read Clairborne Young’s description in Cruising North Carolina.

We wove our way slowly through the snags at about 3 knots until we reached a deep channel. We went upstream about ½ a mile and anchored off Lyon’s Point in 16 feet of water. Even entering the channel we never had less than 7 feet of depth.

This is a very protected anchorage from all points of wind, and I would highly recommend it. The only situation in which I wouldn’t attempt it is if there were large waves on the Alligator that might mask the snags at the entrance. We were the only boat there overnight.

Once we dropped anchor about 1630, we secured the boat and relaxed in the cockpit with our cocktails, then I prepared an easy dinner of chicken quesadillas using some roast chicken that Buck had prepared for the trip.

We watched a large, white egret fishing until dark and hit our bunks soon there-after.

I think I read for a few minutes, but dealing with the rough water earlier in the day had really tired me out.